The Red Queen of Nothing

If we fold our hands, the dragons of origin will go extinct. Here's my suggestion, council. Why don't we encourage cross breeding between other dragon kinds and the dragons of origin. That way, even if their direct descendants don't exist, we can at least have indirect descendants of this great line.

-Kanakiri Attamas' suggestion before the first Royalty Council.

No, we must not! I've already stated before all of you that the dragons of origin pose a huge threat to Dragonia. Their looming extinction should be celebrated. Encouraging cross breeding from an unpredictable species is not advised. I will ask all of you to kill this thought from now onwards. The dragons of origin crossbreeding with other dragons is like asking witches and dragon riders to get in the same bed.

-Anonymous Dragon Observers response to Kanakiri's suggestion.

Vinnandra could hardly save herself, how could she save a dragon? Much more one from the Melbourne line?

Xander had to be kidding her. That was the only explanation for the nonsense he had just spewed.

She'd allowed all that nonsense talk about being his ally go on for too long that she was no longer in the mood to keep up with it.

"You've got to be joking with me." See, there, she just said it. "I am basically… powerless. I am sorry that your dragon is dying, but I'm pretty sure you're asking the wrong person for help."

Ignoring her statement, Xander asked instead, "You're well read. What talent do dragon's of the Melbourne line possess?"

In her head, she began to flip through the book of Dragonkind.

They're three dragons of origin, although now mostly extinct, or with just their indirect descendants in existence. The first is the Dundare line. A line of dragons characterised by their obsidian scales and gleaming red eyes. They have the ability to inflict pain on anyone, and have been used in the front line of the battle against the witches of the Vale. But then, the witches learnt how to fight against the pain they caused.

The second is the Melbourne line. A line of dragons known for their ox blood red scales, and yellow gleaming eyes. They had the ability to read minds and invade thoughts. In some rare instances, they could hypnotise and cause their victims to feel any emotion they wanted them to feel.

The third dragon of origin was the Vornathos line. They were a line of dragons that was rumored to have gone into extinction in just five hundred years of their existence. They were characterised by their unique pearlescent scales and a striking shade of deep, prismatic purple eyes. The Vornathos dragon line were great illusionists. They could create illusions so real that they could physically interact with the environment, and in times of war, those illusions confused their enemies—the witches of the vale—greatly.

And while the existence of the three dragons of origin had been debated over centuries, the Vornathos line had been written off as myth rather than history. If not for the fact that their abilities looked more like sorcery than any other thing, the fact that no direct or indirect species of them exists made them sound unbelievable.

"The dragons of the Melbourne line have the ability to read thoughts and invade minds." Vinn recited. Then because the question had been troubling her she asked, "how is it that your dragon is a pure descendant of the Melbourne line? I never heard that a pure descendant existed."

Xander looked at Astrid and Vinn had a feeling they were communicating through their bond.

"She's not a pure descendant. While she inherited the physical features of the line which is rare, she had none of the true abilities." Xander answered.

"Had none….?" She repeated out loudly in askance. Does that mean Astrid has some abilities now? The gods, she had a lot of questions, but it seemed to her that Xander was having a hard time collecting his thoughts to answer. As if he realised that, he took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Two months ago, Astrid was poisoned by a dragon's breath."

Vinn gasped out loud at the revelation, her palm involuntarily slapping against her mouth.

That was a high crime, treason. And that ability could only belong to an offspring of the Dundare line. Only them could poison another dragon.

"Did your father, I mean… is lord Lenklock's dragon responsible for it?" Vinn voiced out her first suspicion, the thought of it alone churning her stomach.

Xander's features twisted into something she couldn't quite place as he walked to Astrid who had been silently observing them. The dragon descended her head to ground level, allowing Xander to caress her.

"I don't know who did it. My father is not the only one who is bonded to a dragon with Dundare blood. In Lenklock alone, they're over fifty-six dragons sharing the blood."

Fifty-six? That number surprised Vinn greatly. It was a long list of suspects, but no matter what it could be narrowed down. Vinn had a nagging suspicion that the reason why the list went on that long was the fact that Xander couldn't really pinpoint which of the dragons possessed the ability to poison another. Besides, anyone who did this must have a bone to settle with him.

This took her mind to the other half of the book of dragonkind. If half of the book was talking about the nature of different species of dragons, then the other half was based on a very long commentary by a group of anonymous dragon observers who wouldn't stop talking about the dangers that the dragon of origin posed to Dragonia.

One of the authors kept on warning about the dangers of cross breeding, and Vinn could now see why. While it was true that the Dundare dragon line possessed an unimaginable streak for vengeance, their original ability was restricted solely to causing pain to their victims.

But ever since cross breeding happened, different abilities unheard of sprang up… each as terrifying as the last.

"Could Astrid not have seen the dragon?" It was a useless question. Further confirmed when Xander shook his head. If a dragon that could poison other dragons with its breath was roaming around Lenklock, it was a danger to other dragons… and to all of Dragonia.

"When Astrid got poisoned, it kind of pushed her to the brink, and all of a sudden she started seeing."

Vinn's breath caught in her throat, the half moon seeming too small all of a sudden. She heard of how deeply jolting incidents could cause a dragon to evolve or change, in this case, it would seem Astrid's poisoning had changed her.

"Astrid can see visions?" She asked, just to be sure. Of all abilities, that had to be one of the most interesting and terrifying ones she'd heard of.

Xander turned to Vinn, looking straight in her eyes and no longer caressing the dragon. "Yes. And she saw you in her visions."